NRC Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics (NRC-HIA)

The NRC Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics (NRC-HIA) operates and administers any astronomical observatories established or maintained by the Government of Canada.

It also designs and produces new engineering and technical equipments, for antennas, domes, telescopes, receivers, cameras, etc.

Eligibility Criteria

• Canadian industry;
• universities;
• public research agencies.

Summary

Staff members carry out research in optical astronomy, radio astronomy, and related instrumentation (optical-infrared cameras, radio imaging receivers, spectroscopes, adaptive optics) and software (archiving, data processing). The staff develops new techniques and advanced instrumentation for collecting and analyzing data, and develops space instrumentation with Canadian industry, Canadian universities, foreign partners, and the Canadian Space Agency, in collaboration with the Canadian industry.

NRC's facilities include the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory near Victoria, British Columbia and the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton, British Columbia. NRC-HIA is also a partner in the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, in the James Clerk Maxwell radio telescope and the Gemini (North and South) optical telescopes. These facilities are leaders in their field. They are located on the top of mount Mauna Kea, Hawaii, one of the world's premier site for astronomy, or on Cerro Pachon in Chili (Gemini South).

NRC-HIA's observatories and collaborations in international observatories are operated as national facilities which are made available without charge to Canadian and international scientists, following peer review of submitted proposals. Open availability of national facilities is standard throughout the world because no single country can afford the full range of facilities required by modern astronomy.

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Contact(s):
See National Contact.